Previous chapter | Home | Next chapter
Sailor Ranko: Tunnel Vision: Chapter 13, Security Breach.
by
Rebecca Ann Heineman
Ranma 1/2 and the characters therein are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. Based on "Sailor Ranko" by Duncan Zillman and "Twice in a Millennium" by Kevin D. Hammel.
I don't own these characters. Please don't sue me, kill me or make me upload chapters to FanFiction.net without checking them.
"REPORT: ACCESS TO CRUCIAL COMPUTERS REQUIRED"
"COMMAND: BEGIN COMPUTER VIRAL BACKDOOR IMPLANTATION."
========================================
Ami was using her Sailor Scout computer surfing the Internet when the computer alerted her that something was attempting to hack into it. She started logging all Internet packets coming in and started back tracing the intrusion to its source.
She had managed to get as far as the user's Internet Service Provider in San Francisco California before the line was cut at the source. She thought to herself that this hacker was pretty good. He saw that she was getting close and covered his tracks. She had the name of the ISP and that was a good start. She will bring this up at the scout meeting tonight.
Other computers around the world were not so lucky. Tens of thousands of computers had back doors implanted and many more machines that didn't have security updates were compromised. Some system administrators saw the attempts at hacking and stopped the intrusion. But not enough succeeded to matter in the end.
========================================
Setsuna didn't sleep well. She was convinced she was going to find a trace of the dark future in Colorado. It started there. She knew it. She ran scenarios through her head of possible ways that the dark future could come to pass and couldn't come up with any.
She tossed under her covers only to hear a scream coming from Hotaru's bedroom. She quickly got up and ran to Hotaru, there she found Michiru hugging her little girl and Hotaru holding her mother as if she wanted to squeeze the life out of her.
"It was just a dream my little one," Michiru softly spoke. She rocked her daughter back and forth and eventually she calmed down. Haruka came to the doorway and stood next to Setsuna. Haruka and Setsuna looked at each other wondering why Hotaru's dreams have gotten more intense. Until a recent scout meeting, they didn't even know she had bad dreams. Hotaru had been sleeping quietly until a few days ago.
The last few nights, Hotaru had been waking up screaming. She refused to talk about her dreams to her parents. It took a great deal of effort for Setsuna to get any information out of her. It was never this bad.
Hotaru finally settled down and after comforting words from all the older women, she quietly went back to bed. Michiru kissed her little girl goodnight and they gathered in the hall.
"What happened to Hotaru? Why the sudden change?" Haruka was showing some worry over her daughter.
"She wasn't like this until she saw Usagi's toy dog." Michiru remembered how terrified Hotaru was at the ice cream parlor. "I have no idea what scared her."
"Toy dog? What toy dog?" Setsuna and Haruka said in unison.
"Usagi had a 'My Puppy'. It wasn't doing anything unusual and suddenly Hotaru screamed and lost control. I took her home and it took me half an hour to calm her down." Michiru was thinking that maybe she should take Hotaru to therapy.
"What's a 'My Puppy'?" Setsuna asked.
"It's a little robot dog." Michiru giggled. "It was so cute." She got more serious, "I have no idea how Hotaru could become terrified at something like that. I know she loves puppies. She plays with them in the park."
"Well, let's talk to her in the morning, maybe she can tell us or give us a clue." Haruka suggested.
"You sure about that? I don't want her to get scared." Michiru didn't want to give her little girl any more trauma than she had already gone through.
Setsuna said good night to the others and went to her bedroom. She thought, "I'm going to the mall tomorrow. I want to see this toy for myself."
========================================
"Mom invited me to dinner WHEN?" Ranma was a little upset. Akane made dinner plans for today at six, completely forgetting that today was the scout meeting.
"I'm sorry, I forgot. It was just that your mother wanted to see you. You hadn't seen her in a while." Akane was hoping Ranma would change his mind.
"Let's talk to Usagi at school today, maybe we don't have to go." Ranma hoped.
"Anyways, fire bug, we are going to be late for school." Akane grabbed her school bag and stood ready for the dash to school.
Ranma yawned, "I'm still tired. Teleporting twice in one night can take a lot out of me."
"What were you doing with Setsuna anyways?"
"We went to Colorado."
"Colorado? You mean you went to the United States? Whatever for?" Akane had her curiosity piqued.
"I dunno. I fell asleep when we got there, and then when I woke up, it was time to go. It seemed real important to Setsuna." Ranma yawned again.
"I don't trust Setsuna. She seems to always be keeping secrets."
"That's just the way she is. She's really a nice person, it's just that she has a big responsibility." Ranma yawned even wider.
"Well, it would help us if she was more open about everything she knows."
"Yeah, that's true. I guess that she is so used to keeping secrets, that it's in her nature." Ranma started dropping his head to the table.
Akane noticed the clock on the wall. "WAKE UP!" Akane shouted in Ranma's ear.
"I'M UP!" Ranma leaped out of his chair. Akane threw his backpack at him and ran towards the door.
"Here we go again." Ranma dashed out the door to school.
========================================
Black Ops sharpshooters were in position around area two. They waited all day for the guests to arrive. No one came. The scouts that were watching the other four locations reported that no one had arrived. The sun went down and they called it a night. They were going to try again tomorrow.
Corporal Gonzalez was concerned. He knew that the girl in the red dress disappeared before he got to the locations. He hoped that the girl was just lucky and didn't have a sixth sense to detect if someone was near. If that were true, then she would never appear. He mentioned this fact to the Black Ops squad leader. He took in the information and ordered the men to take positions farther away from the center of the area.
If the girl was on alert, the mission would fail.
========================================
At lunchtime, Ranma and Akane met up with the other Senshi at school under the usual tree.
Ranma started, "Is it ok for Akane and I to skip tonight's meeting. We'd like to go visit out folks in Nerima."
Makoto was thinking about Miss Hinako and the other loons who hang out there, "You sure you can survive there?"
Akane sat up, "Hey, I lived there most of my life."
Usagi whined, "Ah, c'mon, everyone will be there." Usagi liked when all the Senshi gathered in a group. It was her second family. She also liked the attention she got.
Ranma chided, "I've got my communicator, if you need us, we can beam in."
Minako was jealous, "It's really cool that you can teleport like that. I wish I could do that."
Ranma thought about that. He guessed, "Maybe you could. I know that the five of you together can teleport. Maybe you just need to train."
Minako was showing her frustration, "I tried. I really tried. I can't seem to do it."
Makoto listened to Minako's confession, "You too? I tried to teleport by myself too."
Akane looked at Rei and Ami. "Well?"
They both confessed. "Yep, we tried too."
Akane smiled. "Me too."
Usagi was embarrassed to confess to her teammates, "Uh... I didn't."
Minako turned to their leader, "You didn't? I'm amazed. You are the one who leads our group teleport. If anyone in our group can do it, it should be you."
Usagi drooped on the grass. "I guess I'll see if I can teleport by myself. Ranma, can you help me?"
"Not tonight, maybe another time."
Usagi had a happy thought. She already had a bigger variety of weapons and powers than the other Senshi. A new power would be really neat and befitting of a future queen. Of course, it was possible that only Sailor Sun had this power and not Moon.
========================================
Genma was on his little sweeper driving around having a great time. He had to be careful not to play bumper cars since there were a lot of automated forklifts driving around moving cardboard boxes everywhere. The machines were brand new and looked expensive.
He saw numerous cases of 'Tasty Spices' and thought how hard it would be to grab one. He didn't want to disappoint Kasumi. He asked if employees get free samples and he was told that he could buy some at a fifteen percent discount. Genma barely had enough money for bus fare.
The factory ran non-stop. Hundreds of cases of merchandise came out of the assembly lines and were loaded on trucks that left at one hour intervals. He was amazed at how much stuff was being produced. They wouldn't miss one or two boxes would they?
That evening, Genma clocked out and noticed that at night, no one was on the factory floor. Only a lone creepy looking security guard sat at the front gate. It would be so easy to sneak in and get some free samples.
Genma tied on a burglar's mask and scaled the back wall to enter the factory. He used his stealth techniques to enter the factory undetected. He saw the assembly line was still in full production and grabbed a spice rack off the line. "This would make Kasumi happy." Genma smiled to himself. He was about to leave when he noticed the larger boxes coming from the adjacent production line. The box was much larger than the box he was holding. He thought that bigger was better, put the box he had down and hopped over to the next assembly line. He grabbed a one of the large boxes and it was very heavy.
Genma thought that this box of spices should be a whole year's supply. He started to wander to the back window when the box contents shifted and an aluminum canister fell out. It bounced on the concrete floor making a terrible clanging sound. Genma dropped the box and grabbed the canister to keep it from making any more noise.
The canister was silver in color and had no markings of any kind except for the letters "VX" in the English alphabet. Genma couldn't read English. There was a black ceramic lid covering the top. Genma thought that it might be a restaurant pack with only a single spice inside. He put the canister on the ground and turned the lid to take a peek at what was inside. He smelled the odor of a rotten fish coming out. "Phew! This stuff went bad!" He thought to himself, as he looked at the green goo that was inside.
The odor was overpowering, he shook his arm involuntarily and spilled the sticky goo on himself and the floor. He felt a shortness of breath and got very dizzy. He moved back from the mess and lost his footing and fell backwards. He started to crawl away and he lost energy and developed nausea. He started coughing uncontrollably and began to perspire profusely. The room darkened as his eyes filled with tears and swelled up. He began to drool.
He didn't understand why he all of a sudden he had become ill. He summoned all his strength to crawl away from the canister. The area of skin that came into contact with the stuff felt like it was on fire. His nervous system started to short circuit and he convulsed.
Genma continued to twitch uncontrollably. It took ten minutes of suffering to end the pain. He thought of Nodoka. "I screwed up this time."
Genma lay still.
========================================
"REPORT: SECURITY BREACH AT FACTORY #21."
"COMMAND: EXECUTE GENERAL ORDER #14. REDIRECT MANUFACTURING TO FACTORY #19. DESTROY INVENTORY TO PREVENT DISCOVERY. CREATE COVER STORY FOR GENMA SAOTOME'S TERMINATION. MONITOR LAW ENFORCEMENT."
========================================
Moments later, a cloaked man appeared. He had ashen white and unnaturally smooth skin covering his face. He stood over the body of Genma and surveyed the scene. He carried the body away to a waiting white van.
Shortly, a tractor-trailer that had been parked in the back of the factory drove up to the dock. The door of the trailer opened and over one hundred cloaked men with military precision entered the factory and began the clean up. By morning, the ten special production lines were completely reworked to manufacture stuffed toys, board games and spice racks.
All the large mysterious canisters were hauled away and all the machinery that manufactured them disappeared.
It didn't want to involve humans in the plan. They were unpredictable. They could not be trusted. They were a necessary evil. The local governments needed humans to contact to get permits and paperwork processed.
All employees in the factories were going to be rechecked to see if they would possibly try to steal inventory or cause another breach. This event was going to alter the plan. Japan cannot be dealt with in the way it wanted. Another method was planned, simulated and approved. It would result in fifteen million fewer deaths initially, but the end result would be the same.
The total cleansing of humanity from Japan would still be achieved. Delayed by three weeks, but achieved nonetheless.
Survival was assured.
========================================
In the trees behind Furinkan High school, a crime scene was created. Genma's body was laid there and posed as if he tripped. A small canister of Sarin residue was left next to the body and trace amounts were carefully placed to look perfectly natural as if this was where he died. A note giving directions to a Yakuza safe house and one million yen were placed in the pockets. It was a perfect setup. Sarin was chemically similar to the VX compound that actually caused his death. By the time it would take for the police to discover the actual cause of death. It would be too late.
Now all was needed was for someone to discover the crime scene.
========================================
Setsuna left Juuban mall with a package under her arms. She just bought a 'My Puppy' and was going to do some research on it. She wanted to know what was about this little toy that could possibly terrify her niece. She was going to ask Ami to help with this as well. Maybe everything could fit together somehow. The toy was made by "Omni-Consumer Products." It was not the company Setsuna was looking for. Maybe there was a connection somehow?
========================================
Nodoka was worried, her husband was supposed to be home already. Akane had called to say the she and Ranma were going to be late by about an hour.
Nodoka was happy to have her son and husband together today. Moments now like these were rare, she cherished them. At seven o'clock Ranma and Akane came in and Nodoka gave her son a big hug. "Where's dinner? I'm starved." Came from the ravenous Ranma.
"We are waiting for your father. He was supposed to be here an hour ago." Nodoka was now getting worried for her husband. Missing dinner was not like him at all.
"Where is he?" Asked Ranma.
Nabiki popped out from her hiding place holding a camera, "He was at work in Itabashi."
"Work? Dad?" Ranma recalled the last job he had was at Dr. Tofu's office, and that was given to him more out of pity than anything else. "Good for him!"
Nodoka was happy her son cared for his father, "Have you gotten a job yet son?" Nodoka smiled. She wanted to see her son truly take charge of his household. That would be so manly.
"Uh... I have an interview at a restaurant tomorrow." He then silently added so she wouldn't hear, "As a waitress."
"That's very good. How about you Akane?"
Akane sat down at the dinner table, "I got a part-time job at a little clothing store. I don't work many hours, so I'm still looking for something better."
Ranma was wondering about his dad, "Shouldn't we go look for him? Maybe another debt collector found him."
"Or maybe another fiance for you?" Akane didn't like that idea.
Ranma couldn't throw away that concept. He gulped, "I think we better find him before he sells me to someone to get out of whatever he is in."
Soun agreed, "I think we should. This is not like Genma to miss a meal."
Nodoka was disappointed that Ranma, Akane and Soun left to go search for Genma. She kneeled and waited at the door for them to all come back and enjoy a nice family dinner together.
The search party traveled to the bus station. Genma was not anywhere to be found. Soun went to the zoo to see if they recently acquired a Panda.
Ranma visited the factory and found the front gate sealed. There was a lot of noise coming from behind the wall. He spoke to the night watchman on the intercom and he said that Genma had left at five in the evening. He used his Senshi powers to sense his father's presence. He sensed nothing. No good aura, no bad aura, no aura at all. He stared at the tall wall wondering why he couldn't sense anyone behind it. He remembered Nabiki talking about the place being totally automated. Since dad wasn't here, he went home.
Akane visited Genma's usual hangouts and vacant lots he liked to train at. She walked by Furinkan High school and had a strange feeling. Her Senshi sense helped direct her to her father-in-law.
She screamed.
Author's Notes: Please review my story. It makes me feel oh so happy and keeps me from making that bump in the night sound you hear at midnight.
Last edited on October 8, 2002